A/N: So sorry this took so long. I've had a fever of 104 for the past three days and haven't been able to bring myself to write this until now. Enjoy :)

"Katniss?" The man releases me, surprised. I spin and see his face.

"Finnick! What on earth are you doing in the Peacekeeper's territory?" I whisper furiously.

He looks confused. "Peacekeeper's territory? The rebels have control of the train station."

The sound of a groan distracts me. I turn to see Johanna still struggling with the meaty man who tackled her.

"Oi! Kobe, get off her!" At his words, the man leaps up and off Johanna. She snarls and gets up, brushing the leaves and twigs off her.

"Thanks for that. Really appreciate it. What the hell Finnick? Why would you attack us?"

"I didn't know it was you!" he defends himself. "You did sneak in here like you were trying to attack us!"

"Well, that's your fault for not signifying that you're rebels- not Peacekeepers!"

"Last time I checked, we weren't wearing the uniform!" Finnick snapped, gesturing down to his ratty military clothes.

Johanna rolled her eyes, and I stepped in before the fight got worse.

"Shut up! No one was injured, and we're all fine!" I turn to Finnick. "Where's Gale?"

"He- well, he- he went to the Capitol yesterday. The sent him out the moment we got here with a few other people."

"Who?" I demand immediately, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"You don't know most of them. A few Thirteen soldiers, a couple Twelve. And..."

"Tell me." Finnick's eyes stray to Johanna and I wonder what the man has to do with her.

"Blight."

Although the name has no meaning to me, clearly Johanna knows who he is, because the moment he says the name she gasps. "He's not well enough to go!"

"Who is-" Johanna doesn't allow me to finish my question.

"Blight is a victor from my District. He was my mentor. Either way, I thought he didn't get medical clearance! What about his leg?"

"Coin cleared him. Apparently she wants as many victors as possible out in the field. You should know that, considering she sent you."

"Umm..." I begin awkwardly, but Johanna stops me.

"Yeah, we know. Is anyone else left from your squad- aside from Kobe?"

Finnick shakes his head. "Apparently Coin told them to ditch me here where I would be 'safe'." He snorts. "Like you can ever really be safe in war. They left Kobe with me for protection, in case the Peacekeepers decide on a random attack."

"How did they get to the Capitol?" Johanna asks.

"They took a train to the edge of One, and then they're going to take a pod into the Capitol. When they reach downtown they're going to walk."

"A pod?" I questioned, my thoughts turning to my shared room in Thirteen.

"Small structures like cars. Thirteen came up with them. They each hold two people, and are, of course, bullet-proof and all-terrain. They have a few in One that they use mainly for underground missions."

Johanna looks like she wants to ask something but I beat her to the punch. "When does the next train to One leave?"

"The train leaves in ten minutes," Finnick tells us. He gestures behind him and for the first time I notice it. I'm surprised I didn't see it before; we're right on the fringes of the station, loosely guarded by soldiers but still not more then twenty yards from the train. We stare at the long black train, steam erupting from the engine, and the soldiers running everywhere.

"How the hell are we supposed to get on this thing?" I ask, voicing the question I am sure they are both thinking.

Johanna rolls her eyes. "Easy. All we have to do is get on and claim we're last minutes soldiers when the conductor comes our way."

"Is that really going to work?" I ask skeptically.

"Sure," Johanna says, but I notice she doesn't elaborate on the plan.

A high-pitched whistle interrupts us. The last soldiers quickly jump onto the train, and the dark smoke begins to pour from the front of the train.

"Hurry!" Finnick yells, taking off into the thick mist. I push after him, trying to follow his path through the station.

We emerge from the cloud right next to the caboose, which is completely empty. Finnick jumps up and pulls Johanna up a moment later, leaving me running next to it.

"Get on!" he yells above the clamor of the train. I run faster and use my momentum to jump onto the train right before we reach the trees.

Panting, I stare back at the station. "I can't believe that worked."

"Told you so," Johanna smirked confidently.

I ignore her and turn to Finnick. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Hadn't thought that far ahead."

We stay on the back of the train car, and surprisingly no one finds us. Only after we have made it midway through One does someone come out- and he barely takes notice of us, merely checking something then returning to the train cars. His nonchalance about having us on board made me think there aren't any tickets. I don't have time to test my theory, for only moments after the man goes back inside the train begins to decrease speed.

I don't even bother to ask what we do once we get off the train, sure it will have something to do with stealing a pod and escaping with it.

Instead, when the train stops Finnick leads us to an officer. "We request authorization to see the list of booked soldiers."

"Names?"

"Finnick Odair."

"Authorization declined."

"Johanna Mason."

"Authorization declined."

They gesture for me to say my name. " Katniss Everdeen."

"Authorization granted," the officer says, and moves the tablet she was looking at so I can see it.

I scan the alphabetized list quickly, and feel the sinking feeling in my gut when I don't find Gale's name.

"Who else is in your crew?" I hear Johanna ask Finnick behind me. He immediately starts to rattle off names.

"Hank, Brutus, Evan, Ethan, Cane, Niles, Leona, and Stuart."

I scan the list quickly for the names. "Niles Rolover?"

"That's him."

"Evan and Ethan Stevens, and Stuart Tall?"

He nods again.

"Officer Brutus?"

"Yeah. Anyone else?"

I double check the list, then shake my head.

"We should probably start looking for them. Wherever they are, Gale is too."

We add our names to the list of soldiers and make our way towards the main building. It's filled with cots and places to receive medical attention. Outside there is another building where pods are stored.

Finnick leads us inside and to a small room housing three cots. Dumping his jacket on one of the beds, he stares out the window and sighs, muttering to himself.

Johanna rolls her eyes and turns to me. "Dinner?"

We eat quickly, and go around to all the individual rooms, asking for Niles, the Stevens twins, and Stuart. No one seems to know any of them. Eventually we give up, opting it give it another shot later in the day.

When we return to the room we find Finnick in almost the same exact position we left him in; staring out the window at the reflective surface of the nearby lake.

"I miss her," he says finally. Johanna rolls her eyes.

"I know what you mean," I reply.

Johanna snorts, and I turn to face her. "What are you, a Capitolist? Love doesn't exist- and even if it did, it would be stupid. Look what's it's reduced you two to- a pile of blubber. Why do you even try? You're risking your life for him, and he doesn't even know what's going on. He's off doing some mission, and you're back here. Why even try?"

I am so stunned by her outburst I don't have an answer. Does she even have anyone she loves?At all? I ask myself. After a moment, Finnick seems to realize I won't answer so he answers for me.

"Because when you love someone, you'll do anything for them. If he knew she was looking, she wouldn't have to. He'd already be on his way back. When you love someone, you just have to trust them, and know that they care about you just as much as you care about them."

Johanna smirks at me, then turns her head to Finnick. "You can't. You can't ever truly trust someone. If the Games taught me anything, it taught me that." She storms out of the room, the door banging shut angrily behind her.

Finnick sighs. "She doesn't know what she's saying. Before the Games, she lost everyone. I guess that the lessons they try to teach- we are weak and they are strong- just wore off on her a little too much."

I can't help but stare at the now-shut door. She lost everyone? No wonder she's so hostile. If I lost Prim... I shudder at the thought.

A light knock on the door interrupts my thoughts. I turn to see a burly man standing at the door, a hesitant expression looking out of place on his face. Brown hair falls in his eyes, and he doesn't seem to be more then twenty years old. A wide smile breaks out of Finnick's face when he sees him, and he rushes forward.

"Niles!" he roars, pounding the man on the back. The gesture is quickly returned. "How are you?"

"Better now. There was a slight mishap with some Peacekeepers, and I hurt my ankle. Never mind that, though! What are you doing here?" Now that the excited tone has left his voice, he sounds rather strict, and slightly angry.

"Katniss, here," he says, gesturing in my direction, "has set out on a quest to find Gale. I made it my duty to help her. After all, a dead Mockingjay wouldn't do anything for anyone, would it?"

Niles peers closely at me. "Katniss. Gale has mentioned you of course- several times." He glances at Finnick and then back at me. "We were also under orders to keep you as far away from the Capitol as possible."

Finnick scoffs. "Since when were you one to follow orders?"

"These were issued directly from Coin's mouth herself."

"How does that change it?"

"Well, it doesn't but- if we get caught, we'll get booted out of the army altogether."

"Better not get caught then, eh?" Finnick says, grinning.

Niles sighs, rolling his eyes in a playful way. "You are going to get me fired."

"Is that a yes?"


"Me, the twins, and the Officer had to stay back. I got a knee injury, Stuart got a concussion, and the officer was actually knocked out for two days, so the twins were assigned to watch us. Here we are now- their room." Niles leads us down a narrow hallway, coming to a stop directly in front of a large metal door.

He knocks lightly on the door to Evan and Ethan Stevens' room, then enters without waiting for an answer.

"Hey guys. I brought a few visitors," I hear Niles say before we enter the room. Exclamations of surprise- was that a gasp?- immediately sound in the small room, and a tall man in the corner hurries to shush them. They immediately comply.

The man looks to be about 6'5, and is wearing his uniform despite just having gotten out of a hospital bed. A buzz cut reveals his forehead is covered in stars, and he stares at me with a intensity that is almost angry. I flinch, but don't look away until he turns his gaze to Finnick.

To my surprise, his face brightens. "Odair! What are you doing here?"

He lies quickly and with ease. "Oh, I have a friend in the other wing- Johanna Mason. She was injured, and this was the closest medical hospital in proximity."

"How was she injured?"

"A Peacekeeper- she met a lone one in the woods, and just before she managed to knock him out he injured her. She managed to make it to our train station before passing out, so the details are rather vague. We did, however, find the body- he died from exposure."

The man nods briskly. By now, I have deduced he is the Captain. "What's this one doing with you?"

"She came to the train station as part of a sort of encouragement to the rebels; she got there too late- the battle had already been won."

The Captain nods gruffly at him. "Good job, Odair. I need some rest."

It is a clear dismissal. Finnick nodded, exiting the room with me on his heels.

"Who was that?" I ask when we get outside.

"That was Captain Brutus. I think you've met his younger sister Anetha."

A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)